Year Seminars on College Students' Life-Long Learning Orientations
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Padgett, R. D., Keup, J. R., & Pascarella, E. T. (2013). The impact of first-year seminars on college students’ life-long learning orientations. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 50(2), 133–151. doi:10.1515/jsarp-2013-0011 Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/jsarp-2013-0011 Innovations in Research and Scholarship Feature The Impact of First- Year Seminars on College Students’ Life-long Learning Orientations Ryan D. Padgett, Northern Kentucky University Jennifer R. Keup, University of South Carolina Ernest T. Pascarella, The University of Iowa Using longitudinal data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, this study measured the impact of first-year seminars on college students’ life-long learning orientations. The findings suggest that first-year seminars enhance students’ life-long learning orientations and that the effect of first-year seminars is mediated through vetted good practices. These findings provide empirical evidence that first-year sem- inars can positively impact complex learning in ways that were previously untested. Findings from the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ (AAC&U) Greater Expectations Forum on Twenty-First-Century Liberal Arts Education Practice (see Leskes & Miller, 2006) identified four learning outcomes that students should be developing through college: integrative Ryan D. Padgett, Northern Kentucky University, Senior Analyst for Co-Curricular Assessment and Research. Jennifer R. Keup, University of South Carolina, Director, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. Ernest T. Pascarella, The University of Iowa, Mary Louise Petersen Professor of Higher Education. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Padgett at [email protected]. JSARP 2013, 50(2) © NASPA 2013 http://journals.naspa.org/jsarp doi:10.1515/jsarp-2013-0011 133 Brought to you by | Wesleyan University Authenticated | 129.133.46.167 Download Date | 8/7/13 8:16 PM Impact of First-Year Seminars learning, inquiry learning, global learning, and civic learning. In particular, the Greater Expectations report defines inquiry learning as a process to purposefully seek out solutions, conduct investiga- tions, gather additional knowledge, and ask questions that challenge the student to think like an expert in the field (Leskes & Miller). In other words, the student goes above and beyond the class- room requirements and becomes intentionally and personally invested in inquiry and engagement. Many educators identify first-year seminars and their structural and pedagogical character- istics as premier vehicles for students’ development, including intellectual and cognitive domains. Indeed, intentional first-year experience programming, including first-year seminars, is a vehicle for the educationally purposeful activities highlighted in the Defining Effective Educational Prac- tices project by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) (Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, Whitt, & Associates, 2005) and documented as a means of fostering in- and out-of-classroom engagement for first-year student learning (Erickson, Peters, & Strommer, 2006). Further, AAC&U identifies first-year experiences—including seminars—as one of 10 “purposeful” and effective educational practices to facilitate students’ progress and achievement on the four key outcomes of undergradu- ate education noted in Greater Expectations (Leskes & Miller, 2006). Although far from a recent innovation in postsecondary education, first-year seminars have gained a strong foothold in American higher education over the past three decades and are now a commonly-used tool to enhance the transition and learning experience of new college students. Na- tional data indicated that 94% of accredited four-year colleges and universities in the United States offer a first-year seminar to at least some students, and more than half offer a first-year seminar to 90% or more of their first-year students (Policy Center on the First-Year of College, 2002; Padgett & Keup, 2011). Given the pervasiveness of first-year seminars and their purported connection with inquiry, cognitive, and intellectual outcomes, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the connection between participation in first-year seminars and a measurable cognitive outcome. This study seeks to fill a gap in the literature base on first-year seminars with respect to its influ- ence on outcomes other than retention, grades, student engagement, and satisfaction. The current work also represents significant methodological advancements from previous studies. First, it uses a national longitudinal dataset, which increases the generalizability of the findings over previous single-institution studies of first-year seminars. Second, it allows for the consideration of indirect effects of first-year seminars on student outcomes via educational experiences in the classroom. Thus, the current study not only identifies if there is an influence of first-year seminars on cogni- tive measures but also charts the pathway of impact on this important student outcome. Literature Review Indeed, the first-year seminar may be the most researched course in the undergraduate cur- riculum (summarized in Cuseo, 2009; Koch, Foote, Hinkle, Keup, & Pistilli, 2007; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Tobolowsky, Cox, & Wagner, 2005). This research has established the first-year seminar as one of the most important instructional vehicles for achieving the learning and devel- 134 doi:10.1515/jsarp-2013-0011 http://journals.naspa.org/jsarp © NASPA 2013 JSARP 2013, 50(2) Brought to you by | Wesleyan University Authenticated | 129.133.46.167 Download Date | 8/7/13 8:16 PM Impact of First-Year Seminars opmental objectives of undergraduate education in the United States. Most of these studies have examined the impact of the course on retention, persistence to graduation, and academic perfor- mance, yielding nearly uniform results of a positive impact of first-year seminars on these student outcomes (e.g., Barefoot, Warnock, Dickenson, Richardson, & Roberts, 1998; Fidler, 1991; Fidler & Moore, 1996; Starke, Harth, & Sirianni, 2001; Tinto, 1993). The benefits of first-year seminar partici- pation on these key educational outcomes appear to be consistent across gender, residential and commuter students, race and ethnicity, and major (Boudreau & Kromrey, 1994; Starke et al., 2001; Sidle & McReynolds, 1999). The majority of research on first-year seminars has focused on the influence of these courses on retention and academic performance measures. Summing up this research, Pascarella and Teren- zini (2005) state that first-year seminar participation has significant and substantial “positive effects on a student’s successful transition to college and the likelihood of persistence into the sec- ond year . and on a considerable array of other college experiences known to be related directly and indirectly to bachelor’s degree completion” (p. 403). Despite the voluminous literature base on the characteristics and impact of first-year seminars on students’ adjustment, experience, and de- velopment, there are still gaps in the previous research on this widely used curricular intervention. Most notably, there is a dearth of research findings on the relationship between first-year seminars and the intellectual development of first-year students. Although there are some accounts of as- sessment and institutional effectiveness in this domain (Barefoot et al., 1998; Tobolowsky et al., 2005), empirical evidence connecting participation in first-year seminars to outcomes such as crit- ical thinking, cognitive complexity, and multicultural maturity are generally missing in the ongo- ing agenda of research on this topic. This omission from the research is especially surprising given that national data on first-year seminar characteristics indicate that critical thinking is one of the most important seminar topics for approximately one-third of institutions and a much higher pri- ority for four-year campuses, smaller colleges and universities, private institutions, and especially in academic-oriented first-year seminars (Keup & Petschauer, 2011; Padgett & Keup, 2011). Among the reasons that first-year seminars offer significant learning opportunities are the structural and instructional characteristics that are not only common among these courses but that also set them apart from the rest of undergraduate classes. First-year seminars, more specifical- ly, tend to be smaller in size than most other lower-division courses, which fosters student-faculty interaction and peer relationships; contain educationally purposeful curricular practices such as service learning, problem-based learning, interdisciplinary instruction, and experiential educa- tion; include intentional linkages with other effective interventions such as learning communities and residential life programs; and feature engaging pedagogies, which are comprised of “a variety of teaching methods, meaningful discussion of homework, challenging assignments, productive use of class time, and encouragement for students to speak in class and work together” (Swing, 2002, para. 3) (Erickson, Peters, & Strommer, 2006; Keup & Petschauer, 2011; Kuh et al, 2005; Leskes & Miller, 2006; Light, 2001; Padgett & Keup, 2011). Given that these characteristics have been widely JSARP 2013, 50(2) © NASPA 2013 http://journals.naspa.org/jsarp doi:10.1515/jsarp-2013-0011 135 Brought to you by | Wesleyan University Authenticated | 129.133.46.167 Download